Alex Gibbs, BA Geography student, was recently an intern at GO! Southampton, to mark the beginning and end of his internship he wrote reflective blogs. Read on to learn about his #MyUoSJourney
Introduction
As a BA Geography student, I’ve explored many interesting social, economic and cultural subjects in my studies. This made an internship with GO! Southampton (which is Southampton’s Business Improvement District ) interesting to me, as the BID involves itself in many areas which I have studied as part of my degree. So developing practical skills and knowledge in areas I have studied in theory was a great opportunity. During the first week of my internship, the projects I would be working on were outlined, the main one being a City Dashboard Project. I am looking forward to working on this project and more! I am excited to see where this experience will take me.
Reflection
During my internship with GO! Southampton I had many opportunities to develop my research, analytical and report writing skills. Working with people who have years of experience was a great privilege and learning opportunity, as their knowledge was useful in helping me refine my own skills and avoiding mistakes. My colleagues at the Business Improvement District (BID) were also amazing in helping with my projects and giving me the autonomy to allow me to progress my work.
My key project was a ‘City Dashboard project’ which involved researching different performance indicators for Southampton City Centre. Conducting this research was interesting. Collating and presenting the data was also useful in improving my design skills. Writing reports which analysed these indicators were also useful in developing my overall writing skills.
As a second year BA Geography student, I’m heading into my important final year where I’ll have to write a dissertation and then look into future employment opportunities. This internship was especially useful when deciding on a dissertation topic, as I was unsure what I wanted my focus to be but decided upon focusing on BID models after my internship. As for future career prospects, this internship was amazing in bolstering my CV as I’ve developed some great skills and experience.
For other students considering an internship, I would definitely recommend looking at what’s available. These internships are great in filling timetable gaps with something useful that can enhance your prospects. In my experience, my line managers were very understanding that I was a student and would have to deal with some timetable changes which was also a relief. The ‘Excel’ Internships are also paid which is great.
In summary, my experience was fantastic! Not only were my managers friendly and understanding but I was able to develop some skills and conduct research into areas that I was interested in. Plus, earning some money on the side with something I enjoyed was an absolute pleasure!
The Excel Southampton Internship Programme is a paid opportunity supported by the Careers and Employability Service at the University of Southampton
